Are frequently met with on post-mortem examinations

Are frequently met with on post-mortem examinations

Are frequently met with on post-mortem examinations

Tumors of the choroid plexus, known as brain sand, are frequently met with on post-mortem examinations, but seldom give rise to any appreciable symptoms during life. They are found in horses at all ages, and are slow of development. They are found in one or both of the lateral ventricles, enveloped in the folds of the choroid plexus.

Melanotic tumors have been found in the brain and meninges in the form of small, black nodules in gray horses, and in one instance are believed to have induced the condition known as stringhalt.

Fibrous tumors may develop within or from the meningeal structures of the brain.

Gliomatous tumor is a variety of sarcoma very rarely found in the structure of the cerebellum.

Treatment for tumors of the brain is impossible.

Tumors Within The Cranium.

Tumors Within The Cranium.

Tumors within the cranial cavity and the brain occur not infrequently, and give rise to a variety of symptoms, imperfect control of voluntary movement, local paralysis, epilepsy, etc. Among the more common tumors are the following:

Osseous tumors, growing from the walls of the cranium, are not very uncommon.

Dentigerous cysts, containing a formation identical to that of a tooth, growing from the temporal bone, sometimes are found lying loose within the cranium.

The symptoms are an expression of dullness and stupidity

The symptoms are an expression of dullness and stupidity

The symptoms are an expression of dullness and stupidity

Symptoms. The symptoms are an expression of dullness and stupidity, and from their nature this disease is sometimes known as "dumminess" or "immobility." A horse so afflicted is called a "dummy." Among the symptoms are loss of intelligence, stupid expression, poor memory, etc. The appetite is irregular; the horse may stop chewing with a wisp of hay protruding from his lips; he seems to forget that it is there. Unnatural positions are sometimes assumed, the legs being placed in clumsy and unusual attitudes. Such horses are difficult to drive, as they do not respond readily to the word, to pressure of the bit, or to the whip. Gradually the pulse becomes weaker, respiration becomes faster, and the subject loses weight. Occasionally there are periods of great excitement due to temporary congestion of the brain. At such times the horse becomes quite uncontrollable. A horse so afflicted is said to have "staggers." The outlook for recovery is not good.

Treatment is merely palliative. Regular work or exercise and nutritious feed easy of digestion, with plenty of fresh water, are strongly indicated. Intensive feeding should not be practiced. The bowels should be kept open by the use of appropriate diet or by the use of small regular doses of Glauber's salt.

Internal hydrocephalus is a disease of mature horses

Internal hydrocephalus is a disease of mature horses

Internal hydrocephalus is a disease of mature horses

Internal hydrocephalus is a disease of mature horses, and consists in the accumulation of an excessive quantity of fluid in the cavities or ventricles of the cerebrum. The cause of this accumulation may be a previous inflammation, a defect in the circulation of blood through the brain, heat stroke, overwork, excessive nutrition, or long-continued indigestion. Common, heavy-headed draft horses are predisposed to this condition.

Hydrocephalus, or Dropsy of The Brain.

Hydrocephalus, or Dropsy of The Brain.

This condition consists in an unnatural collection of fluid about or in the brain. Depending upon the location of the fluid, we speak of external and internal hydrocephalus.

External hydrocephalus is seen chiefly in young animals. It consists in a collection of fluid under the meninges, but outside the brain proper. This defect is usually congenital. It is accompanied with an enlargement of the skull, especially in the region of the forehead. The pressure of the fluid may cause the bones to soften. The disease is incurable and usually fatal.

Anemia of The Brain.

Anemia of The Brain.

This is a physiological condition in sleep. It is considered a disease or may give rise to disease when the circulation and blood supply of the brain are interfered with. In some diseases of the heart the brain becomes anemic, and fainting fits occur, with temporary loss of consciousness. Tumors growing within the cranium may press upon one or more arteries and stop the supply of blood to certain parts of the brain, thus inducing anemia, ultimately atrophy, softening, or suppuration. Probably the most frequent cause is found in plugging, or occlusion, of the arteries by a blood clot.

Symptoms. Imperfect vision, constantly dilated pupils, frequently a feeble and staggering gait, and occasionally cramps, convulsions, or epileptic fits occur.

Pathology. The exact opposite of cerebral hyperemia. The blood vessels are found empty, the membranes blanched, and the brain substance softened.

Treatment. Removal of the remote cause when possible. General tonics, nutritious feed, rest, and removal from all causes of nervous excitement.

Concussion produces laceration of the brain

Concussion produces laceration of the brain

Concussion produces laceration of the brain

Pathology. Concussion produces laceration of the brain, or at least a jarring of the nervous elements, which, if not sufficiently severe to produce sudden death, may lead to softening or inflammation, with their respective symptoms of functional derangement.

Treatment. The first object in treatment will be to establish reaction or to arouse the feeble and weakening heart. This can often be accomplished by dashing cold water on the head and body of the animal; frequent injections of weak ammonia water, ginger tea, or oil and turpentine should be given per rectum. In the majority of cases this will soon bring the horse to a state of consciousness. In more severe cases mustard poultices should be applied along the spine and above the fetlocks. As soon as the animal gains partial consciousness stimulants, in the form of whisky or capsicum tea, should be given. Owing to severity of the structural injury to the brain or the possible rupture of blood vessels and blood extravasation, the reaction may often be followed by encephalitis or cerebritis, and will then have to be treated accordingly. For this reason the stimulants should not be administered too freely, and they must be abandoned as soon as reaction is established. There is no need for further treatment unless complications develop as a secondary result. Bleeding, which is so often practiced, proves almost invariably fatal in this form of brain affection. We should also remember that it is never safe to drench a horse with large quantities of medicine when he is unconscious, for he is very liable to draw the medicine into the lungs in inspiration.

Prevention. Young horses, when harnessed or bitted for the first few times, should not have their heads checked high, for it frequently causes them to rear up, and, being unable to control their balance, they are liable to fall over sideways or backwards, thus causing brain concussion when they strike the ground.

Concussion of The Brain.

Concussion of The Brain.

This is generally caused by falling over backward and striking the poll, or perhaps falling forward on the nose, by a blow on the head, etc. Train accidents during shipping often cause concussion of the brain.

Symptoms. Concussion of the brain is characterized by giddiness, stupor, insensibility, or loss of muscular power, succeeding immediately upon a blow or severe injury involving the cranium. The animal may rally quickly or not for hours; death may occur on the spot or after a few days. When there is only slight concussion or stunning, the animal soon recovers from the shock. When more severe, insensibility may be complete and continue for a considerable time; the animal lies as if in a deep sleep; the pupils are insensible to light; the pulse fluttering or feeble; the surface of the body cold, muscles relaxed, and the breathing scarcely perceptible. After a variable interval partial recovery may take place, which is marked by paralysis of some parts of the body, often of a limb, the lips, ear, etc. Convalescence is usually tedious, and frequently permanent impairment of some organs remains.

Impairment of all the special senses and localized paralysis

Impairment of all the special senses and localized paralysis

Impairment of all the special senses and localized paralysis

Symptoms. Impairment of all the special senses and localized paralysis. All the symptoms of lessened functional activity of the brain are manifested to some degree. The paralysis remains to be our guide for the location of the cause, for it will be found that the paralysis occurs on the opposite side of the body from the location of the injury, and the parts suffering paralysis will denote, to an expert veterinarian or physician, the part of the brain which is suffering compression.

Treatment. Trephining, by a skillful operator, for the removal of the cause when due to depressed bone or the presence of foreign bodies. When the symptoms of compression follow other acute diseases of the brain, apoplectic fits, etc., the treatment must be such as the exigencies of the case demands.

Compression of The Brain.

Compression of The Brain.

Causes. In injuries from direct violence a piece of broken bone may press upon the brain, and, according to its size, the brain is robbed of its normal space within the cranium. It may also be due to an extravasation of blood or to exudation in the subdural or arachnoid spaces. Death from active cerebral congestion results through compression. The occurrence may sometimes be traced to the direct cause, which will give assurance for the correct diagnosis.

Cool place and avoid all stimulating feed

Cool place and avoid all stimulating feed

Cool place and avoid all stimulating feed

Treatment. Place the animal in a quiet, cool place and avoid all stimulating feed. Administer, in the drinking water or feed, 2 drams of the iodid of potassium twice a day for several weeks if necessary. Medical interference with sedatives or stimulants is more liable to be harmful than of benefit, and blood-letting in an apoplectic fit is extremely hazardous. From the fact that cerebral apoplexy is due to diseased or weakened blood vessels, the animal remains subject to subsequent attacks. For this reason treatment is very unsatisfactory.

In the absence of any premonitory symptoms or

In the absence of any premonitory symptoms or

In the absence of any premonitory symptoms or

In the absence of any premonitory symptoms or an increase of temperature in the early stage of the attack, we may be reasonably certain in making the distinction between this disease and congestion of the brain, or sunstroke.

Pathology. In apoplexy there is generally found an atheromatous condition of the cerebral vessels, with weakening and degeneration of their walls. When a large artery has been ruptured it is usually followed by immediate death, and large rents may be found in the cerebrum, with great destruction of brain tissue, induced by the forcible pressure of the liberated blood. In small extravasations producing local paralysis without marked general disturbance the animal may recover after a time; in such cases gradual absorption of the clot takes place. In large clots atrophy of the brain substances may follow, or softening and abscess from want of nutrition may result, and render the animal worthless, ultimately resulting in death.

Apoplexy is characterized by a sudden loss of sensation and motion

Apoplexy is characterized by a sudden loss of sensation and motion

Apoplexy is characterized by a sudden loss of sensation and motion

Symptoms. Apoplexy is characterized by a sudden loss of sensation and motion, profound coma, and stertorous, difficult breathing. The action of the heart is little disturbed at first, but soon becomes slower, then quicker and feebler, and after a little time ceases. If the rupture is one of a small artery and the extravasation limited, sudden paralysis of some part of the body is the result. The extent and location of the paralysis depend upon the location within the brain which is functionally deranged by the pressure of the extravasated blood; hence these conditions are very variable.

Apoplexy or Cerebral Hemorrhage.

Apoplexy or Cerebral Hemorrhage.

Apoplexy is often confounded with cerebral congestion, but true apoplexy always consists in rupture of cerebral blood vessels, with blood extravasation and formation of blood clot.

Causes. Two causes are involved in the production of apoplexy, the predisposing and the exciting. The predisposing cause is degeneration, or disease which weakens the blood vessel; the exciting cause is any one which tends to induce cerebral congestion.

Proper attention should be given to feeding and watering

Proper attention should be given to feeding and watering

Proper attention should be given to feeding and watering

Prevention. In very hot weather horses should have wet sponges or light sunshades on the head when at work, or the head may be sponged with cold water as many times a day as possible. Proper attention should be given to feeding and watering, never in excess. During the warm months all stables should be cool and well ventilated, and if an animal is debilitated from exhaustive work or disease it should receive such treatment as will tend to build up the system. Horses should be permitted to drink as much water as they want while they are at work during hot weather.

An animal which has been affected with sunstroke is very liable to have subsequent attacks when exposed to the necessary exciting causes.

The animal should be placed in shaded surroundings

The animal should be placed in shaded surroundings

The animal should be placed in shaded surroundings

Treatment. The animal should be placed in shaded surroundings. Under no circumstances is blood-letting permissible in sunstroke. Ice or very cold water should be applied to the head and along the spine, and half an ounce of carbonate of ammonia or 6 ounces of whisky should be given in 1 pint of water. Cold water may be used as an enema and should also be showered upon the body of the horse from the hose or otherwise. This should be continued until the temperature is down to 103° F. Brisk friction of the limbs and the application of spirits of camphor often yields good results. The administration of the stimulants should be repeated in one hour if the pulse has not become stronger and slower. In either case, when reaction has occurred, preparations of iron and general tonics may be given during convalescence: Sulphate of iron, 1 dram; gentian, 3 drams; red cinchona bark, 2 drams; mix and give in feed morning and evening.

Virtually active congestion of the brain

Virtually active congestion of the brain

Virtually active congestion of the brain

Pathology. Sunstroke, virtually active congestion of the brain, often accompanied with effusion and blood extravasation, characterizes this condition, with often rapid and fatal lowering of all the vital functions. In many instances the death may be due to the complete stagnation in the circulation of the brain, inducing anemia, or want of nourishment of that organ. In other cases it may be directly due to the excessive compression of the nerve matter controlling the heart's action, and cause paralysis of that organ. There are also changes in the composition of the blood.

Generally perspiration is checked

Generally perspiration is checked

Generally perspiration is checked

In heat exhaustion the animal usually requires urging for some time prior to the appearance of any other symptoms, generally perspiration is checked, and then the horse becomes weak in its gait, the breathing hurried or panting, eyes watery or bloodshot, nostrils dilated and highly reddened, assuming a dark, purple color; the pulse is rapid and weak, the heart bounding, followed by unconsciousness and death. If recovery takes place, convalescence extends over a long period of time, during which incoordination of movement may persist.

Sunstroke is manifested suddenly

Sunstroke is manifested suddenly

Sunstroke is manifested suddenly

Symptoms. Sunstroke is manifested suddenly. The animal stops, drops his head, begins to stagger, and soon falls to the ground unconscious. The breathing is marked with great stertor, the pulse is very slow and irregular, cold sweats break out in patches on the surface of the body, and the animal often dies without having recovered consciousness.

The temperature becomes very high, reaching 105° to 109° F.

Sunstroke, Heat Stroke, or Heat Exhaustion.

Sunstroke, Heat Stroke, or Heat Exhaustion.

The term sunstroke is applied to affections occasioned not exclusively by exposure to the sun's rays, as the word signifies, but by the action of great heat combined generally with humid atmosphere. Exhaustion produced by long-continued heat is often the essential factor, and is called heat exhaustion. Horses on the race track undergoing protracted and severe work in hot weather often succumb to heat exhaustion. Draft horses which do not receive proper care in watering, feeding, and rest in shady places and are exposed for many hours to the direct rays of the sun suffer very frequently from sunstroke.

With strap running from the collar to the girth

With strap running from the collar to the girth

With strap running from the collar to the girth

Prevention. Well-adjusted collar, with strap running from the collar to the girth, to hold down the collar when pulling upgrade; regular feed and exercise, without allowing the animal to become excessively plethoric; moderate checking, allowing a free-and-easy movement of the head; well-ventilated stabling, proper cleanliness, pure water, etc.

The animal should be taken out of harness at once

The animal should be taken out of harness at once

The animal should be taken out of harness at once

Treatment. The animal should be taken out of harness at once, with prompt removal of all mechanical obstructions to the circulation. If it is caused by venous obstruction by too tight a collar, the loosening of the collar will give immediate relief. The horse should be bled freely from the jugular vein. If due to tumors or abscesses, a surgical operation becomes necessary to afford relief. To revive the animal if it becomes partially or totally unconscious, cold water should be dashed on the head. Give a purge of Glauber's salt. If the limbs are cold, tincture of capsicum or strong mustard water should be applied to them. If symptoms of paralysis remain after two or three days, an active cathartic and iodid of potassium will be indicated, to be given as prescribed for inflammation of the brain. In confirmed cases, treatment is not advisable, as there is considerable danger to the owner should an attack occur in a crowded street.

The venous sinuses distended to an extreme degree

The venous sinuses distended to an extreme degree

The venous sinuses distended to an extreme degree

Pathology. In congestion of the brain the cerebral vessels are loaded with blood, the venous sinuses distended to an extreme degree, and the pressure exerted upon the brain constitutes actual compression, giving rise to the symptoms just mentioned. On post-mortem examinations this engorgement is found universal throughout the brain and its membranes, which serves to distinguish it from inflammations of these structures, in which the engorgements are confined more or less to circumscribed portions. A prolonged congestion may, however, lead to active inflammation, and in that case we find serous and plastic exudations in the cavities of the brain. In addition to the intensely engorged condition of the vessels we find the gray matter of the brain redder than natural. In cases in which several attacks have occurred the blood vessels are often found permanently dilated.

Breathing hurried and stertorous

Breathing hurried and stertorous

Breathing hurried and stertorous

Symptoms. Congestion of the brain is usually sudden in its manifestation and of short duration. The animal may stop very suddenly and shake its head or stand quietly braced, then stagger, make a plunge, and fall. The eyes are staring, breathing hurried and stertorous, and the nostrils widely dilated. This may be followed by coma, violent convulsive movements, and death. Generally, however, the animal gains relief in a short time, but may remain weak and giddy for several days. If it is due to organic change of the heart or the disease of the blood vessels in the brain, then the symptoms may be of slow development, manifested by drowsiness, dimness or imperfect vision, difficulty in voluntary movements, diminished sensibility of the skin, loss of consciousness, delirium, and death. In milder cases effusion may take place in the arachnoid spaces and ventricles of the brain, followed by paralysis and other complications.

Extremely fat animals with short

Extremely fat animals with short

Extremely fat animals with short

Extremely fat animals with short, thick necks are peculiarly subject to attacks of cerebral congestion. Simple congestion, however, is merely a functional affection, and in a slight or moderate degree involves no immediate danger. Extreme engorgement, on the contrary, may be followed by rupture of previously weakened arteries and capillaries and cause immediate death, designated then as a stroke of apoplexy.

Congestion of The Brain, or Megrims.

Congestion of The Brain, or Megrims.

Congestion of the brain consists in an accumulation of blood in the vessels, also called hyperemia, or engorgement. It may be active or passive active when there is an undue accumulation of blood or diminished arterial resistance, and passive when it accumulates in the vessels of the brain, owing to some obstacle to its return by the veins.

Causes. Active cerebral congestion may be from hypertrophy of the left ventricle of the heart, excessive exertion, the influence of extreme heat, sudden and great excitement, artificial stimulants, etc. Passive congestion may be produced by any mechanical obstruction which prevents the proper return of blood through the veins to the heart, such as a small or ill-fitting collar, which often impedes the blood current, tumors or abscesses pressing on the vein in its course, and organic lesions of the heart with regurgitation.

The animal should be placed in a cool

The animal should be placed in a cool

The animal should be placed in a cool

The animal should be placed in a cool, dark place, as free from noise as possible. When the animal becomes thirsty half an ounce of bromid of potash may be dissolved in the drinking water every six hours. Injections of warm water into the rectum may facilitate the action of the purgative. Norwood's tincture of veratrum viride, in 20-drop doses, should be given every hour and 1 dram of solid extract of belladonna every four hours until the symptoms become modified and the pulse regular and full.

PLATE XIX.
THE NERVOUS SYSTEM.

If this treatment fails to give relief, the disease will pass into the advanced stages, or, if the animal has been neglected in the early stages, the treatment must be supplanted with the hypodermic injection of ergotin, in 5-grain doses, dissolved in 1 dram of water, every six hours. The limbs may be poulticed above the fetlocks with mustard. Warm blanketing, to promote perspiration, is to be observed always when there is no excessive perspiration.

If the disease becomes chronic (encephalitis or meningitis), we must place our reliance upon alteratives and tonics, with such incidental treatment as special symptoms may demand. Iodid of potassium in 2-dram doses should be given three times a day and 1 dram of calomel once a day to induce absorption of effusions or thickened membranes. Tonics, in the form of iodid of iron in 1-dram doses, to which is added 2 drams of powdered hydrastis, may also be given every six or eight hours, as soon as the active fever has abated. After the disappearance of the acute symptoms, blisters (cantharides ointment) may be applied behind the poll. When paralytic effects remain after the disappearance of all other symptoms, sulphate of strychnia in 2-grain doses, in combination with the other tonics, may be given twice a day and be continued until it produces muscular twitching. In some cases of paralysis, as of the lips or throat, benefit may be derived from the moderate use of the electric battery. Many of the recoveries will, however, under the most active and early treatment, be but partial, and in all cases the animals become predisposed to subsequent attacks. A long time should be allowed to pass before the animal is exposed to severe work or great heat. When the disease depends upon mechanical injuries, they have to be treated and all causes of irritation to the brain removed. If it is due to stable miasma, uremic poisoning, pyemia, influenza, rheumatism, toxic agents, etc., they should receive prompt attention for their removal or mitigation.

Cerebral softening, abscess, and sclerosis are practically inaccessible to treatment, otherwise than such relief as may be afforded by the administration of opiates and general tonics, and, in fact, the diagnosis is largely presumptive.

With its inflammatory products and exudations

With its inflammatory products and exudations

With its inflammatory products and exudations

Treatment. In all acute attacks of inflammation involving the membranes or cerebral masses, it is the pressure from the distended and engorged blood vessels and the rapid accumulation of inflammatory products that endangers the life of the animal in even the very early stage of the disease. The earlier the treatment is commenced to lessen the danger of fatal pressure from the engorged blood vessels, the less effusion and smaller number of inflammatory products we have to contend with later. The leading object, then, to be accomplished in the treatment of the first stage of encephalitis, meningitis, or cerebritis, and before a dangerous degree of effusion or exudation has taken place, is to relieve the engorgement of the blood vessels and thereby lessen the irritation or excitability of the affected structures. If the attempt to relieve the engorgement in the first stage has been only partially successful, and the second stage, with its inflammatory products and exudations, whether serous or plastic, has set in, then the main objects in further treatment are to keep up the strength of the animal and hasten the absorption of the exudative products as much as possible. To obtain these results, when the animal is found in the initial stage of the disease, if there is unnatural excitability or stupor with increase of temperature and quickened pulse, we should apply cold to the head in the form of cold water or ice. For this purpose cloths or bags may be used, and they should be renewed as often as necessary. If the disease is still in its early stages and the animal is strong, bleeding from the jugular vein may be beneficial. Good results are to be expected only during the stage of excitement, while there is a strong, full pulse and the mucous membranes of the head are red from a plentiful supply of blood. The finger should be kept on the pulse and the blood allowed to flow until there is distinct softening of the pulse. As soon as the animal recovers somewhat from the shock of the bleeding the following medicine should be made into a ball or dissolved in a pint of warm water and be given at one dose: Barbados aloes, 7 drams; calomel, 2 drams; powdered ginger, 1 dram; tincture of aconite, 20 drops.

Or inflammation of the interior of the brain

Or inflammation of the interior of the brain

Or inflammation of the interior of the brain

In cerebritis, or inflammation of the interior of the brain, there is a tendency to softening and suppuration and the formation of abscesses. In some cases the abscesses are small and numerous, surrounded with a softened condition of the brain matter, and sometimes we may find one large abscess. In cases of recent development the walls of the abscesses are fringed and ragged and have no lining membrane. In older or chronic cases the walls of the abscesses are generally lined with a strong membrane, often having the appearance of a sac or cyst, and the contents have a very offensive odor.

In addition to the serous effusion

In addition to the serous effusion

In addition to the serous effusion

In meningitis, especially in chronic cases, in addition to the serous effusion, there are changes which may be regarded as characteristic in the formation of a delicate and highly vascular layer or layers of membrane or organized structure on the surface of the dura mater, and also indications of hemorrhages in connection with the membranous formations. Hematoma, or blood tumors, may be found embedded in this membrane. In some cases the hemorrhages are copious, causing paralysis or apoplexy, followed by speedy death. The meningitis may be suppurative. In this case a puslike exudate is found between the membranes covering the brain.